KENNESAW — Kennesaw Police called for backup from Cobb and KSU campus police late Saturday night to break up a party where officers reported finding marijuana and a few underage drinkers.

At almost midnight on Saturday, Kennesaw Police officers were dispatched to the University Club on Frey apartment complex, between Shiloh Road and George Busbee Parkway east of Interstate 75, for a noise complaint and possible drug activity reported from an anonymous tipster.

A report about the incident, filed by Officer J. Crane, said when Kennesaw Police arrived at the apartment, they could smell marijuana “both burnt and raw.”

As police approached the front door, “it was clear that the party was out of control,” according to Crane’s report.

Crane said people attempted to escape out of windows and flee on foot.

As the first of a dozen officers arrived, they yelled into the apartment, which they said was filled with loud music, and asked one of the renters to come out and talk.

Sam Glover of Marietta was the first renter to exit, and he reportedly told police they were throwing a party for his birthday. Glover turned 21 years old on Sunday.

Nathanael Delile and Austin Sandifer, both 21 and from Kennesaw, also rent the four-bedroom apartment. While being questioned by Kennesaw Police, all three men insisted there was only liquor at the party, no marijuana, Crane said.

The men were instructed to sit outside on the sidewalk and were handcuffed. But, according to a separate report by Sgt. Ryan Deans, Glover attempted to pull his arms free while using a cell phone to video-record police officers handcuffing the roommates.

“I then informed Glover he was now under arrest for obstruction,” Deans said.

Police request ‘voluntary’ searches

The approximately 100 partygoers were originally told no one was allowed to leave until the police investigation was completed.

“This did not sit well with the people in the apartment,” Crane’s report said.

Due to the developing “volatile situation,” Crane requested other police agencies to assist. The report said 12 officers arrived from Cobb Police and Kennesaw State University Police.

The partygoers were then told they could not leave the apartment unless they consented to a search.

Police inspected pockets and purses while the partiers’ bodies were patted down. But according to the police report, nothing illegal was found during the “voluntary” searches.

Three teenagers at the party, who were under the legal drinking age, were handed over to their parents.

“Fearing that the evidence inside the apartment would be destroyed,” an officer kept the main apartment door open with his foot, waiting on a search warrant to arrive.

Once Kennesaw Police entered the apartment, the report said they found 4.4 grams of suspected marijuana lying on the living room floor.

During a complete search of the private residence, Kennesaw Police said they found three .38-caliber pistols, two in trash cans.

The report also lists a glass jar was found underneath a bed containing 51.5 grams of suspected marijuana, along with a black box containing a digital scale and numerous baggies.

Cobb Fire assisted in opening a locked bedroom, where Jordan Speaks of Kennesaw was found in a bed “covered up by numerous blankets and pillows in an attempt to conceal himself,” Cane’s report said.

Speaks, 20, “said he had drank two shots of Hennessey liquor,” Cane reported.

Is off-campus housing a problem?

Kennesaw Chief of Police Bill Westenberger said the off-campus student community on Frey Road is not a concern and Saturday’s incident was an exception because of the large crowd, presence of marijuana and underage drinkers.

“We do respond to occasional parties, but this incident was larger than most,” Westenberger said.

He said the Kennesaw Police Department has a “great relationship” with the property management of U Club on Frey, which is owned by American Campus Communities, based out of Austin, Texas.

“They are responsive to concerns as they are brought to their attention,” Westenberger said.

Speaks, Glover and Delile will face misdemeanor charges of maintaining a disorderly house, furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

Sandifer was arrested on an additional felony charge of intent to sell marijuana. They were all granted bond and released Monday from the Kennesaw City Jail.

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